Tunisians demand PM resignation

Hundreds of Tunisians gathered in front of Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi's office Sunday in an effort to force the interim government to step down. Protesters said the uprising against toppled president Ben Ali should be followed up by the removal of all old-regime figures from the leadership and the banning of Ben Ali's RCD party.

According to AFP, the protest defied a night-time curfew and a state of emergency. Many had come from poorer rural regions.

Some of the protesters held up pictures of the dozens of people killed during Ben Ali's crackdown.

Meanwhile, the state news agency TAP reported that the director of the country's main private television channel had been detained for plotting to bring back Ben Ali and the channel was briefly taken off air.

Officials said they had also detained two key figures from the regime of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Senate leader Abdallah Kallal and top Ben Ali adviser Abdel Aziz Ben Dhia were being held under house arrest, TAP reported.